Corris was given an eight month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and was ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.

Judge Andrew Lowcock told her she had come 'very close' to going straight to prison.

He said: 'Your basis of plea is you were coerced into allowing this by threats against your family and didn't receive any financial benefit. Drugs are a curse and people who grow cannabis and help can frequently end up in prison.

'You have an explanation of apparent vulnerability but you should choose the people you associate with more carefully in the future.'

Somehow this tale rings true to me. First of all, there are some pretty evil bastards out there. Secondly, there are quite a few dozy individuals with "use me" tattooed to their foreheads. Anyway, twenty nicker a gram is way too much, that must be the influence of the new BBC HQ in Manchester.